Corrections_Today_January_February_2019

Correctional Health Perspectives

“What has been the outcome of this program or policy implementation?” and “How has residents’ demograph- ics and personal history impacted their success in particular treatments and rehabilitation programs?” To answer these types of questions, data obtained during intake and classification is very useful, as is information in case man- agement notes, medical records and mental health records. Legal records, especially pre-sentencing investiga- tions, are often helpful as well. Operational analytics seeks to answer the question, “Where are we now?” Important information for this type of question often comes from the offender management system, and may include unit placement, program assignment and participation, officer logs, case management notes and disciplinary reports. Staffing assign- ment rosters add important insight into resource utilization. This func- tion gives organizations important insights into the results of current policy and procedure, and highlights where staff are spending their time and effort. This data is often translat- ed into dashboards that are visible to line and supervisory staff to provide them immediate feedback. Predictive analytics answers the question, “What can we expect in the future?” High functioning analytics suites use the output of the historical and operational analytics functions as the input to forecast future needs in program capacity, housing requirements, staffing levels and consumables. This is an essential

increase of 80 percent in the number of AS beds in the state’s prison sys- tem. Coincident with the move, the NDDOCR revised their disciplinary policy and procedures, with the goal of standardizing sanctions handed out for infractions. This revision in policy and procedure filled the new expanded AS unit to capacity within 18 months of opening. In 2015, at the direction of the organization’s leadership team, the NDDOCR made sweeping changes to the behavioral health program and to disciplinary policy and procedure. The goal of these changes was to limit or elimi- nate the use of restrictive housing as a sanction for disruptive or dan- gerous behavior, and to eliminate placement of seriously mentally ill individuals into restrictive hous- ing entirely. The program redesign sought to develop alternative meth- ods for treating disruptive behavior and to utilize evidence-based be- havioral therapies to intervene and to modify dangerous and disruptive behavior. Infractions leading to re- moval of an individual from general population were limited to the 13 most harmful behaviors identified by leadership and staff, such as assault and battery on staff, assault or bat- tery on another resident, homicide, escape, etc. Alternative sanctions were utilized wherever possible. Resident housing relocation became an action of last resort. The AS unit was renamed and repurposed. The new Behavioral Intervention Unit (BIU) was born. →

function in planning and budgeting. Predictive analytics can be applied on the level of the individual, unit, facility and system. Prescriptive analytics represents the ultimate goal and greatest utility of the entire analytics process. These tools deliver actionable intelligence to the organization. Using predic- tive analytics output as the starting point, organizations can design, test and implement policy and procedure changes and see the results of these actions in real time. For example, predictive analytics may identify a resident group at high risk for certain behaviors or at high need for certain services. Using the tools of prescriptive analytics, organizations can commit resources to implement program changes and can measure the success and cost of the effort. Case study: North Dakota The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (NDDOCR) has three prison fa- cilities that hold adult males. Male residents who receive disciplinary sanctions, including placement into restrictive housing, have historically been transferred to Administra- tive Segregation (AS) at the North Dakota State Penitentiary. Prior to 2013, AS held 60 beds. In 2013, the AS unit was moved and expanded to 108 beds. This represented an Restrictive Housing Program redesign

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